{"id":15513,"date":"2020-11-10T17:20:10","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T17:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/10\/gop-unveils-14t-spending-bill-with-696b-for-defense\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:28:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:28:51","slug":"gop-unveils-14t-spending-bill-with-696b-for-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/11\/10\/gop-unveils-14t-spending-bill-with-696b-for-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Republicans unveil $1.4T spending bill, with $696B for defense"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Senate Republicans on Tuesday introduced a governmentwide, $1.4 trillion spending package, with $696 billion for defense, teeing up negotiations in Congress\u2019 tense lame-duck session \u2015 and several fights with House Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government is operating on a stopgap continuing resolution<\/a>, or CR, through Dec. 11, and Congress must either pass a deal, or another funding patch, to avoid a government shutdown in the middle of a turbulent presidential transition. A separate COVID-19 relief effort and the annual defense policy bill<\/a> are also on Capitol Hill\u2019s busy to-do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate must reconcile its long-awaited package of 12 bills with the House, which passed its own bills in July. The Senate\u2019s GOP-drafted defense language for fiscal 2021 differs from the House version on the number of Lockheed Martin-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to order and funding for a space-based sensor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared to the House bill, the Senate version also calls for one fewer Virginia-class submarine and $19 million more in funding for next-generation 5G networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the Senate bill was mostly bipartisan and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., expressed confidence in an eventual deal, the atmosphere for compromise is unclear. The post-election period remains white hot politically<\/a>, as Republican leaders back President Donatl Trump in his legal challenges of President-elect Joe Biden<\/a>\u2019s electoral win, and as two races to determine control of the Senate face January runoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, Democrats chided Republicans over the long-stalled bills. Stopping short of endorsing the effort, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., criticized the legislation for ignoring the country\u2019s COVID-19 relief needs, shortchanging safety net programs and the environment, and wasting money on Trump\u2019s border wall<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House passed its $694.6 billion Pentagon spending bill for fiscal 2021 in July as part of a $1.3 trillion package. It included politically charged provisions to set aside $1 million for the Army to rename 10 bases that honor Confederate leaders and to bar the Trump administration from using more Pentagon funds on border wall construction. It would reduce transfer authority from the requested $9.5 billion to $1.9 billion, and place additional oversight mechanisms on the Defense Department\u2019s ability to reprogram funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what stood out in the Senate GOP\u2019s latest proposal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air warfare:<\/b> The Senate panel would fund a total of 96 F-35s in FY21, 17 jets more than the Pentagon\u2019s request and five more than the panel\u2019s House counterpart. Its bill added about $1.7 billion for 12 F-35As for the Air Force and five F-35Cs for the Marine Corps and Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the bill fully funds the B-21 bomber program, many of the Air Force\u2019s other major development programs received slight cuts. Funding for one of its biggest priorities, the Advanced Battle Management System, shrank from $302 million to $208 million. The committee cited \u201cpoor justification\u201d as a reason for the cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force\u2019s Next Generation Air Dominance program also would take a hit despite the headline-grabbing first flight<\/a> of a full-scale demonstrator aircraft, which was disclosed by the service in September. The Air Force wanted $1 billion in FY21 to continue development of NGAD \u2015 a suite of manned and unmanned air superiority technologies that could include a sixth-generation fighter. However, the committee shaved about $70 million off the request.<\/p>\n\n\n\t